


Falling

by TrueColours



Series: Raven's Roost [2]
Category: The Adventure Zone (Podcast)
Genre: F/M, Falling In Love, Magnus rushes in, Pining, Pre-Relationship, Raven's Roost, Recklessness, prequel to The Rebellion but works as a stand-alone fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-01
Updated: 2018-02-01
Packaged: 2019-03-12 07:08:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,791
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13542279
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TrueColours/pseuds/TrueColours
Summary: That feel when you're crushing on your father's handsome new apprentice but you have no social skills.





	Falling

The first time Julia, Steven and Magnus ever sat down to dinner together, Julia had said something that made Magnus laugh so hard he choked on his soup. She’d watched him apologising and coughing into his napkin and felt a warm fizz of something inside her chest. He’d had an open face and kind eyes. She’d hoped they might be friends.

It hadn’t happened yet. From then on he’d rarely been unreserved with her. She’d tried to talk to him the way her mother and her neighbour Renee had taught her, asking him polite questions about himself and showing an interest in the answers, but he told her almost nothing. She would have assumed he was just keeping her at arm’s length because he was only an apprentice, if it wasn’t for the contrast with the way he treated everyone else. He was confident with customers, rambunctious with their children. Sometimes he bordered on downright rude.

‘Never wanted an apprentice who licked my boots,’ Steven had said loudly after a few ales in the tavern. ‘One day he’ll have to strike out for himself. If all he knows is toadying then where’ll he be?’

Or more quietly to Julia,

‘Don’t worry about him contradicting me, love. He doesn’t mean any harm. We don’t know where  he’s from; most likely he used to be higher up the pecking order. Besides, he has good ideas.’

‘I just don’t want him disrespecting you,’ Julia muttered, and Steven burst out laughing.

‘What if he does? I’m a big enough lad to take care of myself.’

Julia hated that she minded when Magnus said _no, let’s do it like this_ , or got three quarters done on building a project or rearranging the shop before he thought to ask for permission. She couldn’t stand the masters who made their apprentices act like servants. But she _did_ mind. She wanted Magnus to respect Steven; she didn’t want people thinking that Steven couldn’t keep him in order. Whenever he argued she watched his face carefully for any sign that he meant harm by it. It was hard to tell. His expression was so open. Too open. It was impossible to guess at what was going on inside his head.

He scared her, was the thing. He didn’t do anything, but sometimes he moved like a predator. She watched him watch the room and knew instinctively that he was dangerous. Other times he seemed more like an oversized puppy. He was prone to odd fits of clumsiness; he’d turn around to greet her when she walked into the workshop and send a whole stack of timbers flying. It made her heart contract strangely whenever he did that.

Steven was crazy about him. He didn’t care if Magnus contradicted him in front of a whole shop full of customers on the best way to stain pine, or broke out the best mahogany because he’d just got so excited about a new order. He’d raved to Julia when they first took him on about how lucky they were to find someone so accomplished willing to work for a wage. Someone as skilled as Magnus should have been thinking about setting up shop for himself, apparently. And Magnus wasn’t quiet around Steven like he was around her. She often heard them in the workshop, cracking jokes, chatting away like old friends. She understood why Steven liked having him around. A young person who loved working wood as much as he did, and didn’t dream of being a wizard or a bard or heaven knew what.

She was glad she’d never had any siblings, if sharing her father with the apprentice made her this jealous.

‘He says he trained at this conservatory,’ she told her friend Rowan as they drank tea in the parlour above the shop, ‘but I reckon he must have been some kind of soldier. He looks dangerous with that axe.’

‘He’s graceful for a big guy,’ Rowan said. ‘I like it.’

‘Graceful?’ Julia said. ‘He moves like he’s going to pounce! It freaks me out. And he’s always talking back to Father…’

‘Thought you were all in favour of apprentices standing up for themselves,’ Rowan said.

‘Well…’ Julia hesitated. ‘Yes, but…’

‘I think there’s some subtext here, Jules.’

‘What do you mean by that?’

‘I mean that I think you’ve got the hots for him.’

‘ _What_?’ Julia said. ‘I do not!’

‘If you say so,’ Rowan said coolly. ‘Why don’t you talk a bit more about the way he moves?’

Julia searched for a retort to that and came up blank.

‘Come on, it’s only natural!’ Rowan continued. ‘This is a small city; of course it shakes you up when you see a new face. And he’s top-notch, you’ve got to admit.’

‘He’s well put together,’ Julia conceded.

Rowan snorted. ‘This table is well put together,’ they said. ‘ _He_ is very handsome. I’m guessing he made the table, by the way?’

‘He made a huge deal of offering it to me because it wasn’t what the customer wanted,’ Julia said. ‘ “If you’re sure it’ll match the décor,” he said. I can never tell if he’s making fun of me.’

‘Why would he make fun of you?’

‘I don’t know. I _don’t_ have the hots for him.’

‘Then why did you get so fed up when Jim and Lucy started angling for an invitation and asking if he’d be in the shop? If looks could kill!’

‘I think it’s gross when craftspeople’s children go goggling at the apprentices,’ Julia snapped. ‘They can’t exactly tell us to piss off, can they? The least we can do is leave them alone while they’re working.’

‘Ah, so you’re too noble to flutter your lashes at him, are you?’ Rowan said.

‘He doesn’t even like me,’ Julia growled.

‘Aww, what makes you think that?’

‘He won’t tell me a single thing about himself,’ Julia said. ‘I have tried to get to know him, you know. But you ask him anything about where he’s from and it’s just, _oh, real far away_ , _oh, it was a long time ago, oh, I don’t remember._ ’

‘Maybe it was kind of terrible,’ Rowan said. ‘Maybe he doesn’t want to talk about it.’

‘I hadn’t thought of that…’ Julia admitted.

‘Hell, I’ve even heard it can mess with your memory sometimes, if bad stuff happens to you. Your mind just doesn’t let you think about it.’

‘Maybe,’ Julia said. ‘He chats away with Father, though. Maybe he just thinks I’m a spoiled little rich girl.’

‘No, that’s what _you_ think,’ Rowan said. ‘You’ve got to stop being so hard on yourself. And on him. He’s probably just as shy of you as you are of him, you know.’

‘I guess…’ Julia said.

She could hear the sound of sawing coming up through the floorboards. Magnus and Steven were both busy in the workshop. Magnus always worked in just his undershirt. Once he’d gone to strip that off as well, and Steven had told him,

‘Shirts on; this is a shop, not just a workshop.’

Julia had been there, and Magnus had apologised to her so profusely that she couldn’t tell if he was really that sorry or if he’d been making fun of her for blushing. And she had been blushing. She was blushing now, remembering, listening to him work.

‘I like him, really I do!’ she sighed. ‘He’s kind to children. He’s funny! He’s just…not funny with me. I wish he liked me.’

‘Pssh, he likes you fine,’ Rowan said. ‘He just doesn’t know how to deal with other genders. People our age never do. You and he are exactly the same.’

‘You think I’m being mean to him.’

‘A little bit, maybe. Hey, don’t look so sad! I get how you feel.’

‘Thanks, Rowan,’ Julia said. ‘Hey, I’m sorry. You’ve been sitting here an hour and I haven’t asked you a single thing about yourself. How’s healing?’

Rowan groaned. ‘Awful! I thought it would work, you know, like magic, but look at this!’ They splayed out a hand and pointed at their fingers. ‘If someone breaks _this_ bone, and you try to heal it like it’s _this_ bone, their hand falls off!’ Julia giggled. ‘I’m serious! It just drops right off! Sorry, it’s mean of me to complain about learning magic.’

‘Don’t worry about it,’ Julia said. ‘I was never really interested in healing magic. For _exactly_ this reason.

They finished their tea and Rowan stood up to leave, pulling Julia into a gentle hug.

‘Thank you so much for having me,’ they said. ‘Keep trying with Magnus. And if he cheeks you, smack him down. You don’t have to put up with that.’

‘Thanks, Rowan, I will,’ Julia said.

She saw them to the front door, waving them goodbye with a kiss on the cheek. Rowan stepped out into the street, which was full of children, let out from school early on account of the midsummer festival.

‘Julia!’ Steven called, and she made her way into the workshop to answer him. He was standing over the workbench, folding away his plans. The sound of splashing water from Magnus’ cubby told her that he was washing up for the day. His door was ajar, and as she passed she caught a glimpse of him bending over his basin, rubbing a washcloth under his arm. Droplets of water clung to his bicep. His skin shone. She turned away sharply, wanting to kick something. She hated feeling like this. She hated it.

‘You busy this afternoon?’ Steven asked, grabbing the broom. He started to sweep up the wood shavings that littered the floor.

‘Not very,’ Julia said. ‘The schematics you asked for are on your desk. I’m waiting for a couple more payments to come in before I do the accounts.’

‘Good,’ Steven said. ‘Listen, I’m giving Magnus the half-holiday. He hasn’t had much time to explore since he got here. Show him round a little.’

‘Oh.’ Julia’s face fell before she could stop it.

‘Got plans with your friends, have you?’ Steven asked.

‘No,’ Julia admitted, ‘but doesn’t he?’ She lowered her voice so it wouldn’t carry to the cubby. ‘I’m sure he doesn’t want to be trailing around after me.’

Steven frowned, setting the broom aside and walking over to her. Very quietly, he asked,

‘Sweetheart, are you uncomfortable with him?’

‘No!’ Julia exclaimed. ‘It’s just – ’ What could she say? _I don’t like it when he cheeks you. He makes me feel like a schoolgirl. Sometimes I look at his hands and forget how to form words_. ‘I’m a little shy of him.’

‘Natural!’ Steven said. ‘He’s shy of you too. But you’re the mistress of this house, so you’re going to have to step up first. Go on, be gracious. Show him around.’

Magnus stepped out of his cubby, buttoning his overshirt as he went. Looking at him with Rowan’s comments fresh in her mind made Julia want to sink through the floor.

‘Is there anything else that needs doing?’ he asked.

‘No, you go relax,’ Steven said. ‘Julia’ll show you the sights.’

‘Alright,’ Magnus said, looking at her doubtfully.

‘Come on, then,’ Julia said brusquely, heading for the door. Steven laughed.

‘Don’t mind her, Magnus, she’s all bark no bite!’ he said. Julia shoved her feet roughly into her boots and threw open the door. At least Magnus had the grace not to laugh at her along with Steven. He followed her quietly out into the street.

They walked side by side, as fast as Julia could go, not speaking. She couldn’t make herself look at him, but she was acutely aware of his presence, like sitting sideways on to a hot fire. He was thinking she was rude. He was thinking she was a kid. She didn’t know what he was thinking, and she didn’t know how to find out.

‘Um, where are we going?’ he asked at last, tentatively.

‘For a walk,’ she grunted.

‘Mysterious!’ Magnus said.

‘There’s a park near here,’ Julia said, cursing internally. Another person would have had a favourite tea house to take him to or friends to introduce him to, or at least would have thought of taking him to the square to watch the festival being set up, instead of taking off in the opposite direction because they were throwing a fit. Just Magnus’ luck that he was stuck with her. ‘I mean, if you’d like that…’ she said lamely.

‘Sounds great!’ he said. ‘Are there dogs?’

Julia glanced at him suspiciously. Was he really delighted to be spending his half-holiday in a park, or was there some sarcasm that she was supposed to be picking up on?

‘Sometimes,’ was all she said.

The city was built with its back to a cliff and its streets running over a series of artificial bridges and pillars. The Craftsmen’s Corridor was one of the closest to the cliff. Julia ducked through a side-street and brought them out at the backs of the houses, where a little apron of grass lay at the foot of the cliff. There were a few trees, stunted by the shade but still picturesque, and a scattering of wildflowers. Above them the cliff reared, craggy and grim. A couple of cataracts tumbled down the rock face, forming a waist-thin, fierce stream that chattered away among the grasses. The space was hardly big enough to deserve the name _park_ , but it was one of the few green spaces the crowded city boasted. And Julia didn’t really care about grass. She came for the cliff.

‘Do you like climbing?’ she asked.

‘Yeah, I do,’ Magnus said. ‘You?’

‘I do,’ Julia said. ‘Want to try?’

‘I mean, it looks pretty steep…’ Magnus said, peering up at the cliff.

‘I won’t lie; it’s a tough climb,’ Julia said. ‘We won’t if you don’t want to.’

‘Don’t worry, I’m great at climbing,’ he said. ‘I was just worried it might be too tough for you.’

She glared at him. He stared back, deadpan, then suddenly smiled so brilliantly that she couldn’t keep her own expression under control. Turning away before he saw her grin back, she strode to the cliff and began to climb. She was already well above Magnus’ head before he made it to the base of the cliff.

Clinging to a stable handhold, she watched as he pulled himself up. He hadn’t been boasting; he _was_ good at climbing. He didn’t move as fast as she had, but then he’d never climbed the route before. She’d been doing it since she could walk.

As he drew level with her heels she set off again. The route got tougher as it got higher, the handholds smaller and less easy to spot. The rough rock stung her as she clung by her fingertips. When she looked down again Magnus was hunting for the next handhold.

‘You need to grab the – ’ she began.

‘No, don’t tell me!’ he called back. A moment later he found his way and came swarming up the wall, level with her, then past her.

‘Gotta keep up!’ he said.

Julia scoffed quietly. The next handhold would fox him. You had to wedge your fingers into a crack. Sure enough, he hesitated, and she blew past him easily.

‘You sure do,’ she said. He laughed, found the crack, scrambled higher. His eyes were bright with excitement. Julia’s heart pounded, and it wasn’t from the exercise.

He grabbed at the next ledge and slipped with a yelp, then laughed and tried again. He didn’t look the slightest bit unnerved by his near miss. And she could tell that although he was having fun, he wasn’t impressed yet. He didn’t think this climb was hard.

Best practise was to keep three points of contact with the rock at all times. Only move one hand or one foot at a time. But to get past where she was, you had to jump and catch hold of the next handhold. She should never have done it. She definitely shouldn’t do it now.

She sprang, pulled herself up with her left hand, snatched at the rock with her right and caught the hand-hold cleanly.

‘Woah!’ Magnus yelled.

Julia wedged her fingers into the next crevice and went up diagonally, hand over hand. There were no toeholds here. She scuffed her boots against the flat rock, getting what leverage she could. Even further up, the cliff actually started to overhang a little. She pulled herself into a semi-secure position and paused, panting. She heard the scuffle and crunch as Magnus made the jump, but it was actually dangerous to look down now. She felt her centre of gravity shift and her stomach lurch when she tried it. She looked up, reached for the next handhold. Then she heard Magnus yell again.

She looked down and saw him already falling, eyes wide and hands flailing. For a moment she thought she was going to lose her own grip; then she righted herself and clung to the cliff like a spider, watching, horror-struck, as Magnus hit the ground with a sickening _thump_. He landed shoulder-first and rolled. And then she was scrambling back down, so fast and panicked that she should have slipped too and broken her neck, but somehow she made it down safely, not even bothering to climb the last six feet, just dropping and landing hard and running to where he was already scrambling to his feet.

‘Oh, gods above, are you alright?’ she cried.

‘Yeah!’ Magnus said breathlessly. He brought his hands up, feeling his chest and arms like he couldn’t quite believe it. ‘Yeah, I’m okay, I’m not hurt.’

‘Look, don’t move yet,’ Julia said. Steven had forbidden her to climb the dangerous cliffs, but, guessing she wouldn’t listen, he’d also taught her a little first aid. ‘You’re in shock, you might be hurt and not feel it. Can you wriggle your fingers?’

He made fists of his hands. ‘Yes.’

‘Toes?’

There was a pause. She assumed he was wriggling them inside his boots.

‘Yes.’

‘Okay, good.’ She forced herself to take a deep breath. She was sure she was going to burst into tears any second. ‘Can you roll your neck really slowly left and right?’

He did that too.

‘Does it hurt?’ she asked.

‘I’m a little stiff…’

‘Okay, okay, but it doesn’t look like anything’s broken…I’m going to touch you, I need to feel your ribs, can you just, take a deep breath?’

She pressed her hands to either side of his chest while he breathed in and out several times. She wasn’t sure she’d know a broken rib if she felt one, but he didn’t seem to be hurting. She supposed it would have to do.

‘Damn,’ she said. ‘Stars’ teeth. That was, what, twenty feet?’

‘I bounce,’ he said. ‘Always have. Are you okay?’

She became aware of a fierce stinging. Looking down, she realised that she’d skinned both forearms in her plummet down the cliff. The raw flesh smarted angrily, and blood was welling up, about to drip onto the white cloth of her apron.

‘ _Damn_!’ she said again, tears pricking her eyes. ‘Father’s going to kill me!’

‘Quick, come here!’ Magnus said. He tugged her over to the stream and onto her knees. She lowered both arms into the water, and the blood began to wash away in lazy curls. As her skin paled with cold, the bleeding slowed. Julia shivered, trying to calm her breathing.

‘Are you not supposed to go climbing?’ Magnus asked.

‘Not that high,’ Julia said, sniffing. ‘Definitely not supposed to drag other people. I’m so, so sorry; this is all my fault. You could have got hurt.’

‘No, it was my fault,’ Magnus said. ‘I should have known better than to follow you. I was showing off.’

‘You were,’ Julia said. He immediately looked crushed. ‘I mean – !’ she floundered. ‘People don’t normally admit that. I was showing off too. It was stupid to climb so high.’

‘I mean, it was working!’ Magnus said. ‘How did you _do_ that?’

‘Don’t encourage me!’ Julia said, laughing wetly.

‘Sorry! Um…I’m astonished that a nice young lady like you would ever?’

Julia doubled over with a snort. They grinned awkwardly at each other.

‘Hey, don’t worry about Steven,’ Magnus said. ‘I’ve got bandages and things in my room in case I cut myself working. We can get straight in the door and patch you up and he’ll never know.’

‘Thanks,’ Julia said. She raised her arms gingerly out of the pool, holding them slightly out from her sides so that the pinkish water wouldn’t drip on her clothing.

They hurried back to the Craftsmen’s Corridor and slipped quietly into the workshop. Magnus grabbed the kettle that was keeping warm on the hearth and moved it to the middle of the fire, stirring up the embers underneath it. In a few moments steam was gushing from the spout. They took the hot water into Magnus’ cubby.

It was a tiny room, barely big enough to cram in the bed and washstand, but white-walled and clean. He had the bed made tight as a drum. It was very bare, though. Not even a book or a dried nosegay from a sweetheart. Julia suddenly felt sad. He was alone in this city and she’d done nothing to make him feel welcome.

There was one piece of ornamentation in the room. Three wooden ducks sat in a row on the windowsill, small, middle and large. Magnus had to have carved them himself.

‘They look like they might quack,’ Julia said.

‘Oh, you like the ducks?’ Magnus asked, pulling out a first aid kit from under the bed. ‘First thing I carved that I was ever proud of was a duck.’

‘Did you really learn woodworking at a conservatory?’ Julia asked.

‘Sure; why would I not have done?’

‘It’s just, well, you walk like a soldier,’ she said.

‘I went to military school before that,’ he said.

‘Where was that, then?’

‘Town called Hatfield Brook.’

‘Never heard of it.’

‘Couldn’t tell you where it is either. My geography is awful.’ Magnus grimaced apologetically. ‘Long way from here, though. I was…kind of wandering about for a bit, before.’

Julia remembered what Rowan had said, and didn’t press him.

Magnus poured the boiling water into his wash basin and splashed in disinfectant, and they sat and waited for it to cool.

‘So why does your father still take apprentices if he has you?’ Magnus asked.

Julia snorted. ‘Do you think I work wood well enough to keep a business going?’

‘Sure. I’ve seen your work, it’s fine.’

‘Thanks. It didn’t come naturally, though. It used to drive Father mad that I didn’t just _get_ it like he did.’

‘When I was first starting out, my instructor asked me if I understood I was supposed to be carving the wood, not myself,’ Magnus said. ‘It’s normal not to get it. But carpentry isn’t your favourite thing?’

‘No,’ Julia admitted. ‘I wanted to learn magic. Or music. Pretty ungrateful, huh? My father’s built a business for me and I’d rather be doing something else.’

‘No it’s not!’ Magnus said. ‘Magic! You bet I’d be learning if I had an arcane bone in my body. Try the water?’

The water was just cool enough to be bearable. Julia washed her arms thoroughly, wincing at the sting.

‘So what happened about that?’ Magnus asked. ‘Magic and music?’

‘Father indulged me as much as he could,’ Julia said. ‘He would have sent me to school to learn wizardry if he could. But in the end…well. It’s expensive. He needed me in the shop.’

‘So what’ll you do?’ Magnus asked.

‘I don’t know. Focus up and make master craftswoman so I can run this place properly? Sell up and send myself to school? Just bugger off now and let Father leave the shop to someone who actually loves the craft?’ Julia wrung out a bandage and used it to dab the dirt out of her arm. ‘I’ve considered them all.’

‘Wow,’ Magnus said. ‘Shall I help you with the bandages?’

Julia’s mouth went dry, but she nodded. The alternative was trying to wrap her arms one-handed, and that was just silly. Magnus pulled her hand into his lap and leaned over her arm, passing the bandage round and round. She smelt the tang of his sweat and her heart turned over. He was being very careful not to pull the bandage too tight or let his calluses catch on her skin. She clenched her fists and her teeth and her thighs and tried to breathe calmly.

‘So if I can ask,’ he said, ‘what about your mother?’

‘She’s on a caravan that does the rounds in these parts,’ Julia answered, eager to break the silence. ‘Her family’ve always travelled. They sell our woodwork all around Faerun.’

‘I wondered how you sold so much in such a small city. Don’t you miss her, though?’

‘Sometimes.’ Julia shrugged. ‘She never planned to settle here. She likes travelling, and Father…well, he’s more interested in being a father than being a husband, you know?’

‘Yeah, I see that. Seems odd though.’

‘You’re rude as hell sometimes, you know that?’ Julia said.

‘Sorry!’ Magnus said, and she looked into his eyes and saw that he really was sorry. ‘I don’t think sometimes…’

‘It’s fine, I know you don’t mean to be.’

‘You should tell me if I am, though.’

‘You’re right. When I get offended I stew. It’s a bad habit.’

Magnus laughed. ‘Sorry if I’m asking too many questions,’ he said. ‘I just want to know you better.’

Julia’s stomach fizzed at that, for all she tried to tamp the feelings down. She cleared her throat.

‘So anyway,’ she said. ‘Yeah. It’s unusual, but it works for us.’

‘You ever think of travelling with your mum instead of working here?’

‘Sometimes. I don’t know. It’s good here, it’s good there, it isn’t perfect anywhere, you know?’

‘I know. It never is,’ Magnus said.

‘What about your family?’ Julia asked.

He stayed silent so long that she wondered if she’d somehow crossed a line. She peeked at his face and saw that he was frowning as though the question were difficult – not emotionally difficult, but actually too complicated to answer.

‘I just…I honestly don’t look back that much, you know,’ he said. ‘It was a long time ago.’

She didn’t press.

‘I sometimes hear you practising upstairs while I’m working,’ he said, tucking in the end of the bandage. ‘You play the mandolin, right? And sing.’

‘Right,’ she said.

‘I like it,’ he said. ‘Sounds lovely.’

‘I’ll play for you if you like,’ she said. The thought of playing with him watching her made her want to curl up and die, but she was damned if she was going to hide her music away upstairs like it was too good for him, not if he enjoyed it. She was going to start trying to be nice to him.

‘I’d love that!’ he said eagerly. His smile seemed to light up the whole room.

She fetched her mandolin, and he sat down with a piece of carving to listen. Either he knew that she’d find it easier to play if his attention was divided between her and the wood, or he was working even though Steven had given him the half-day. Either way it was good of him. She felt ashamed that she’d ever thought otherwise.

She fumbled at first, missing easy notes, but eventually managed to settle. Magnus’ knife slowed as her playing improved, until he was just sitting and listening, carving forgotten. When she reached the end of a piece, he asked her if she knew the song about the red roses. She played him the opening chords, and he started to sing it.

His voice was rough and untrained, but true to the note, with a natural sweetness. He faltered a little at first, looking as self-conscious as she felt, so she joined in, adding a harmony while her fingers continued to pluck out the chords. His voice got stronger. They finished the song and hunted for another that the both knew.

They were still occupied when Steven came in, bringing their neighbours Renee and Ester to eat dinner with them.

‘Have a good time today?’ he asked.

‘ _Oh_ , yes,’ Magnus said, in such a suspicious voice that Steven actually threw him a quizzical look.

‘It was alright,’ Julia said, shrugging. She glared daggers at Magnus as soon as Steven’s back was turned again.

 _Sorry!_ he mouthed, wincing, and then both of them had to choke down their giggles so that Steven and their guests wouldn’t ask what was so funny.

**Author's Note:**

> Comments are what motivate me to keep writing, and I love to chat with fellow fans, so please leave me feedback if you're able!


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